Posted: Oct 27, 2026 8:20 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2:20 PM EDT
By: Journalist - Boshko Maric - CBC Montreal.
Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon will not be allowed to speak at this week’s Canada-EU summit, according to the Parti Québécois (PQ).
The summit is set to take place Oct. 29 and 30 in Montreal.
St-Pierre Plamondon wrote in a statement Tuesday that the federal government refused his request to make a speech at the event, despite the fact that it will be held on Quebec soil.
In the statement, which was published on the social media platform X, the Quebec premier accused Prime Minister Mark Carney of disrespecting Quebec and holding a vision of Canada that “directly contradicts the principles defended by our government, specifically the respect for our autonomy and areas of competence.”
St-Pierre Plamondon argued that Ottawa is “refusing to consult Quebec and involve it in the negotiations” with the European Union.
Carney responded to St-Pierre Plamondon’s message, telling reporters on Tuesday afternoon that his government has already held three consultations with Quebec regarding Canada’s agreement with the European Union.
The prime minister added that St-Pierre Plamondon was invited to a dinner at the event, but refused.
“It’s his decision to leave the chair empty,” Carney said.
A source in the federal government also pushed back on St-Pierre Plamondon’s claims, telling Radio-Canada that Ottawa will hold direct discussions with Quebec and that all provinces will be consulted as negotiations between the two sides progress.
According to the PQ, the federal government also refused Quebec’s request to host a reception on the sidelines of the summit, which it said was made over a month ago by former premier Christine Fréchette.
In a statement released Monday, Quebec’s Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Marie-Claude Sarrazin quoted a phrase from Carney’s lauded speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this year, when he said, “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.”
Sarrazin added that the federal government’s decision shows a “basic lack of respect for Quebec and a denial of the role of our parliament, which reminds us of the need to be in control of our own destiny.” Summit creates tension between Quebec and Ottawa
Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, who is also responsible for economic development for Quebec regions, told Radio-Canada that St-Pierre Plamondon, along with every provincial leader, is invited to attend the event.
Joly also emphasized that this is a federal summit, adding that “we need to make sure we can reach an agreement with the European Union. It’s what Quebecers want. It’s what Canadians want.”
According to a source in the federal government, Quebec was offered an opportunity to welcome foreign dignitaries in Montreal, accompanied by representatives of the federal government, which it refused.
Conservative Party of Quebec Leader Éric Duhaime reacted on Tuesday to the controversy around the summit, telling CBC in a statement that it is “always disheartening to see the federal Liberal government refuse to allow Quebec to take its rightful place.”
Duhaime added that the PQ “must not, in the name of its referendum obsession, sacrifice the interests of Quebecers by choosing to boycott the summit.” Canada strengthening ties with Europe
This week’s summit comes just over a month after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed creating a path for Canada to become the European Union’s first associate member.
In the face of tariffs from the United States, Carney has also advocated for a stronger alliance between Canada and the EU, particularly in areas of critical minerals, defence, artifical intelligence and energy security.
In a news release published ahead of the summit this week, the prime minister wrote that in response to a more dangerous and divided world, “Canada and the European Union are building on each other’s strengths — deliberately, systematically, and rapidly — to form a new, ambitious alliance.”
On Monday, St-Pierre Plamondon announced in a social media post that he had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The premier wrote that he plans to travel to France for a meeting with Macron in the coming weeks, and that their conversation spoke to the “solidarity and natural chemistry between our two nations.”
I don’t think any provincial government should be speaking to an international assembly. I never voted for the Quebec Premier to represent me as a Canadian. Unless he is just going to go up and welcome everyone to their lovely province sit down and shut up.
Just as Danielle Smith shouldn’t be traveling to the states Quebec’s premier should not be travelling to France.
Agreed. There’s no valid reason for any of them to be speaking internationally, that’s literally the Federal Governments job.
Similarly, Doug’s ads against tariffs in the US shouldn’t have ever been allowed either. You run a province, not the country, stop stirring the fucking pot.
Yup. Stay in your (no bikes allowed) lane.
This isn’t “muzzling”, it’s not-being-invited-on-your-own-terms. Nothing stops our whiny premier from giving whatever speech he wants.
À l’aide!! I’m being oppressed!!!
Here we go with the bullshit already.
Everyone expected this. It’s their tired and well worn shtick that plays to the fears of their supporters that they are an aggreived people.
It’s professional wrestling levels of acting in bad political theatre. It works because their supporters feel more than they think.
Sometimes I worry Qc can appear as Canada’s second most victim-complex-themed group.
pretty Ironic in my mind that this agreement with europe would most likely only help Quebec but Plamondon probably figures that there’s nothing he needs to worry about in the agreement so why not score some cheap political points instead. I hope quebecers see that.
Maybe they did not want to hire a Bloq translator for the translators. /s
I know Canadian English is bastardized differently than the other versions of English, just like every other language changes from area to area from time to time. English is the bastard child that was passed around through many of the other languages and is still whoring around. I am not saying that Bloq French is not real French any more than Canadian English just that they are different.
i don’t get what this has to do with translators or dialects? edit is this a joke and I’m thick headed?
Canadian french is radically different than French french. I was given all kinds of heck one time for making the comparison I was just trying to get a head of the issues this time.
